The Reaper's Apprentice
by lazywriter123
Summary: Spencer was killed in Tobias's cabin but the reaper spared him but at a price. Now Spencer is going to be the new grim reaper once he dies. Having to learn how to be a reaper and keeping it a secret from his team is going to be a challenge.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Criminal Minds

Enjoy

Spencer felt cold…very cold like he was frozen in a block of ice or trapped in a blizzard in only a shirt and a pair of shorts.

His eyes slowly opened to find that he was in his bedroom; everything was exactly the way it was before…before he and team left for Georgia.

But that didn't make sense. He was in a cabin, trapped and held captive by Tobias. But then he remembered.

"_Chose…"_

"_No…"_

_*click*_

"_Chose…"_

"_I won't do it…"_

_*click*_

"_Life is a choice."_

"_No…"_

_*click*_

"_Chose…."_

"…_..No….."_

_*BANG*_

Spencer placed his hand on his heart but to his shock and dismay, he felt no heartbeat. In panic, he got up and opened the door to his living room. Only to find himself in the middle of a busy street in what he believed to be New York City. He looked and saw Times Square so he was defiantly sure.

But how did he just go from his small apartment, to the middle of New York City?

Spencer couldn't feel his heartbeat or pretty much anything. He didn't feel anything and that unnerved him greatly. When he tried to touch a light post to steady himself…he slipped right through the pole and fell into the pavement. He didn't feel any pain from the fall which scared him even more.

"You of all people should know that panicking doesn't solve anything."

Spencer turned to see a man that looked around Spencer age, he was tall, had dark hair, and was wearing casual clothing.

The man smiled and helped Spencer get up.

"How come you can see me?"

The man chuckled, "Well I brought you here after all so I should see you."

"What do you mean?"

"Think Spencer…after Tobias shot you in the cabin."

_Spencer felt himself float. He saw bright light…._

_Tears fell from his eyes and then…he saw a man…the man stopped him from ascending further into the light and he took a deep breath…_

"But…I can't feel anything, so am I dead or not" asked Spencer.

"Your body is alright, this is your soul Spencer. Souls don't have heartbeats, the body does."

He and Spencer walked down the street that went by at the speed of light while they seemed to move in slow motion.

"So…why am I here?"

The man stopped to look at him. "Spencer I'm here to make an offer. You see right now, your body is in the hospital and you have been separated from your body for about a day. Technically you are supposed to die but the higher management, so to speak, wants you to do something. It's totally your choice."

"Ok then…what does um…he want?"

"I guess I'll cut to the chase, I'm the infamous grim reaper. The being that guides souls to their eternal fate. I've been the reaper for 300 years. Every 300 years a new reaper is chosen. The new reaper is a good soul that is not only smart, but compassionate. I'm about fifty years from my due date, as we call them. Once my time is up I go to the afterlife."

Spencer stood there, mouth hanging and unable to speak. This had to be a dream.

"This is no dream Spencer. In short, you have been chosen to be the next reaper. But, you can decide not to be and you can move on if you choose. The higher management understands if you simply want to move on. Some do and they go to the afterlife to live in peace with their relatives and loved ones."

Spencer thought for a long moment, "So what will happen if I choose yes?"

"Well you will be returned to your body and live a full life and when you die, you will be the new reaper."

"…that's it?"

"Well there are a few things…. One you will be my apprentice. I'll teach you the ropes and I have to be around to make sure you live a full life since that's the deal. Two, you will not tell anyone about this. Finally, when I say not to do something, LISTEN TO ME. There have been reapers in the past that have made stupid mistakes."

"Like what?"

"The dinosaurs were one thing…that took forever to clean up from what I heard about it. The black plague…and…well there are plenty of small things but not too bad."

Spencer stared at him.

"Look even reapers can make mistakes."

Spencer smiled, "Well…I can't just leave my mom on earth alone…." After a long moment, Spencer sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it."

The man smiled, "Great! So for now on call me Dave."

"I do have one question."

"Sure."

"So…no black cloak, scythe, or face of a skull?"

Dave gave him a cold look, "How many of you are going to ask that. Every soul I reap, they ask that stupid question. The answer is NO. The whole dark look came out of one of the reapers in the past that liked to show off. The look stuck for some reason."

Spencer snickered. "Oh ha ha…anyway I have to send you back."

Dave faded away, along with the city and everything else.

#$#$#$#$#$##$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$

Spencer woke up in a small hospital bed with his team mates sitting all around him. "Oh Spence thank God your ok."

Everyone was so happy that Spencer would pull through just fine. As they talked to him, Spencer saw Dave standing in the corner smiling.

So it wasn't a dream…oh boy….

PLEASE REVIEW


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Criminal Minds

Enjoy

Two weeks had passed after being "spared" by the grim reaper and appointed as his apprentice. Since then he has not seen or heard Dave. At first he assumed that maybe his dream and seeing Dave in his hospital room was all just a figment of his imagination he had but then one day, on his day off, he woke up to Dave sitting in a chair across from his bed.

"Morning, sunshine."

Spencer shot up out of bed and tumbled to the floor. Dave laughed and Spencer jumped to his feet. "Dave…so I guess I was never dreaming huh?"

Dave smiled, "Nope you're my new apprentice. Today I'm going to show you what I do. Come on and get dressed."

Spencer dressed and washed up quickly, once he was done, Dave was waiting for him in the living room.

"Ready?" Spencer nodded. "Good, our first call for the day is in New York. Take my hand."

Spencer stared at his hand for a moment then held his hand. The room around them melted away and colors and shaped swirled around them. It only lasted a few seconds before they were in a small apartment. The place smelled old and musty.

"How…wha…"

"Teleportation Spencer. Don't worry you'll learn how to do that soon enough. A little practice and you can go anywhere in the world."

Spencer looked around, "Where are we?"

Dave made a clipboard appear in his hand, "This is the apartment of a Miss. Paterson. A widowed mother of two children. She is eight-five and dying of terminal cancer I'm afraid. She's is her bedroom, through that door."

They walked towards it but stopped Spencer for a brief moment, "No one can see us or hear us. Just stand back and watch what I do. This is basically to show you how we do our job. This is what you'll have to do when it comes for you to take my place."

Spencer nodded and they went inside. There in a soft-looking bed was an elder woman surrounded by her two children and some friends. They all were silent and the children kissed and talked softly to their mother. Spencer stood, heart-broken that this woman had to die.

"Does she really…."

"Yes Spencer…it's her time."

Dave walked over to the woman and placed his hand on her forehead. Slowly her bluish-colored soul appeared and stepped out of her body. Dave gently led the woman away from her bed.

"How are you feeling Jane?"

She smiled, "I feel so much better, I haven't felt this good in years."

Dave smiled and took out his clipboard, "We'll according to this…you're going to heaven. Your husband Rob is waiting for you."

She cried happily and they all walked together out of the apartment. Rather than going out into a hallway, they were surrounded by bright light and then her soul vanished.

When the light faded they were in a hallway, back on earth. Dave smiled at Spencer, "I like jobs like this. To see a gentle person who lived their life move on in peace…."

Spencer smiled, that was a good way to look at it.

Then Dave became grim, "The next job is not so pleasant. Now you will see what happens to a bad soul…."

Spencer gulped. The hall faded and they began to teleport once more.

They were now in a prison, in an execution room. A man in an orange jumpsuit was strapped into a chair and was being prepared for his last moments on earth.

Dave took out his clipboard. "This is Henry Miller, he murdered six women and one child…he also killed his father with an axe apparently. He was sentenced to death three years ago. Since then he has made no effort to redeem himself or try to amend for his sins on earth."

"But he killed…"

"We try to be as fair as possible. I once was sent to retrieve a man who killed someone but he repented by not only doing everything he could to help the family of the victim but also bettered himself before it was too late. He was sent to purgatory and it's been about four years so his final judgment will be soon."

"I see…."

"A lot to take in huh?"

Spencer nodded quickly. Then Dave moved towards the man in the chair. "Another minute and the machine will turn on…."

Once it did, Dave moved the soul out of the man's body. The man struggled in Dave grip but he couldn't budge.

"What the hell man! Who are you! Guards!"

"They won't help you now" snarled Dave. The man looked back to see his now dead body being carted away.

"No…."

"Mr. Miller…it seems according to my paperwork here, you're going to hell and believe me they have a special treatment for people like you."

The man screamed and tried to get away but suddenly out of the floor, large clawed hands grabbed at the souls and dragged him down. A large hole appeared that was too hot to get close too. Flames flickered and the sound of screaming from below was heard. The soul was dragged into the hole and the hole vanished.

Spencer stood; he was shaking a bit and was also sweating. Dave put a hand on his shoulder, "It's all right. They just like to show off a bit."

They teleported back to Spencer's apartment.

Dave sighed, "This is a thankless job Spencer. We do what we have to do. No one is given a second chance once it's the end. We all have one life to live. You screw it up and that's it."

Spencer nodded, "It's just that…it's heartbreaking to see that mother be sent away from her children and then I was glad to see that man be sent to hell, but I'm also kind of sad that he couldn't make himself into a better person so he won't have to be sent there…."

Dave smiled, "Now you're learning. This job has a lot of compassion around it. We have protocol to follow of course but we also want people to be able to go to heaven. More people usually do or at least purgatory. Hell is a very picky place, they want BAD souls. Souls those are so corrupted and evil that they could never be reformed or changed."

"So Henry Miller was a soul that was too corrupted to be fixed and Jane was a soul that lived a good life and whatever sins she committed she redeemed herself of."

"Yes exactly. You see Jane back when she was a teenager got involved in a bad crowd. Lots of drinking and drugs. She was really heading down the road of no return for a few years, she was lucky not to have been arrested. Yet one day, a friend of hers came to her apartment that she was staying in during college and literally took all her drugs and beer and dumped it down the toilet while Jane was screaming at the locked bathroom door. Her friend stayed in Jane's apartment for months, making sure that she wasn't drinking and doing drugs. She inspected every item she had and never left her side for a second. After several months, Jane kicked her addictions and swore off drinking and drug-use. She got much better grades, graduated and went on to become a school teacher for elementary students. Then she met her husband Rob, married, had kids, rekindled her relationship with her parents since it was the drugs that split them apart, and became an active member of the community."

Spencer was stunned, she didn't look like a person that would do drugs but then never judge a book by its cover.

"Wow, I would have never guessed."

Dave smiled, "its all part of the job we do. I think we had a successful first lesson. So now it's time for your homework assignment!"

"My homework? I'm not in 6th grade anymore" said Spencer.

Dave laughed, "You're my apprentice so you have no choice. So today and I'll check to see if you did it tomorrow, I want you to go for a walk around the city."

"A walk…that's it?"

"Yep and tell me what you see. Make details in your head. See ya."

With that Dave vanished. Spencer stared dumbly at the spot where Dave was standing.

Spencer blinked and then grabbed his coat, "Guess I'll…go for a walk."

Spencer left his apartment and locked the door.

PLEASE REVIEW- next time, see what happens on Spencer's walk


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Criminal Minds

Enjoy

Spencer walked down from his apartment and out onto the street. It was a clear day out; the city was moving as always. People everywhere and everything looked peaceful. At first Spencer was confused as to why was his first assignment as a grim reaper's apprentice is to take a walk?

As Spencer walked passed a playground he saw children playing on the monkey bars. It was then he noticed something really, really weird. The children has glowing yellow aura surrounding their bodies. Children were glowing! Spencer was in shock but then again standing gawking at children would make the people at the playground suspicious and call the police so Spencer kept walking.

As Spencer walked passed a mother and her baby, he say that the mother had a blue aura and the baby also had a yellow aura.

Ok now this is getting weird.

As Spencer passed by a high school, he saw that most of the students had blue auras, except for several which were a grayish color. One of them was a boy walking out in a football uniform and the other is a boy that was staying as far from the others as possible. It was strange to see two very different looking people with the same aura. Spencer continued on and saw something even more perplexing.

A middle-aged woman and a man that was passing by her as she was sitting on a bench had pure white auras.

From what Spencer could see, people mostly had blue auras and children had many yellow.

Then he saw a man stumbling out of a bar, his aura was pitch black. It sent shivers down Spencer's spine when he saw it.

After another hour, Spencer was back home and plopped down on the couch. He shut his eyes for a second and saw Dave sitting across from him.

"How was your walk?"

"Really, really, weird. I saw all these…auras."

Dave laughed, "Yep that's the point. As the grim reaper, you have to be able to see the soul of the person in order to send it to the afterlife."

"So I saw seeing souls basically."

Dave nodded, "But I'm sure you noticed that they all had some…differences from each other correct?"

"Yes, the children had yellow souls."

"Yep, up until about thirteen or fourteen years of age, the soul of the person is not fully developed yet. So they are yellow. They then turn blue when they become teenagers."

"And blue means they are good souls."

"Correct Spencer. All souls start blue then can turn based on the person's deeds and sins in life."

"But I saw these teenagers with grayish souls…"

"I know, the jock looking one is Daniel Morris and the loner is Peter Edenton. The reason that they have gray souls is that they are "lost" souls so to speak. There not bad souls, just unsure and lost because of forces beyond their control."

"Their miserable huh?"

Dave nodded, "High school is the worst experience for many teenagers. It thrusts children into the adult world too quickly. More then what they and parents can handle."

Spencer knew that all too well, his high school years were less then pleasant.

"What about pure white souls?"

Dave looked up at him with wide eyes, "Oh souls like that are very rare. They are pure souls so they become angels when they die."

"Wow, so angels with the wings and halo do exist."

Dave nodded and smiled, "They work in mysterious ways. You never know when they are near."

"Can't we see them?"

"No they're the only beings that we are not able to see. Reapers have an ability called the "sight", which always us to see all otherworldly creatures that normal mortals can't see."

"The last soul I saw was pitch black. So he's a pretty bad soul."

"Oh yeah he's going to have a rough time if he doesn't try to change. But he has time; maybe he can turn around before then."

Spencer nodded and thought over about everything that Dave has told him. This reaper business is a lot more complicated then he thought it would be.

"Alright then, we still have a long day ahead of us. It's only one pm after all and we still have much to do."

"What's next?"

"We'll were going on another field trip again. Only this time were going to the Other_ world_."

"You mean were souls go after they die, but I thought…."

"No not exactly. It's more like an office if you will. The place where all otherworldly beings live and keep the "business" running smoothly."

Spencer nodded and took Dave's hand. They disappeared in a flash of light and slowly crossed the border between the human world and the other world.

#$#$#$$#$#$#$#$#$$#$#

**Meanwhile-**

"What's his name?"

"Spencer Reid."

"I see…he's Dave's apprentice?"

"Yep as of two weeks ago. He doesn't seem to be much of a threat and a bit naïve."

"Then it will be a lot easier to obtain what I need."

"What's that?"

"The job of the reaper is more than just reaping souls. They have the job of protecting a very important artifact. An artifact that could change time and space as we know it and bend it to my will."

"You mean…."

"Exactly…The book of the grim."

PLEASE REVIEW. What is the book of the grim? What awaits Spencer in the Other world? Who wants the book? Find out in the next chapters to come!


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